As a Woman ages, she uses up all of the potential eggs she was born with, and at roughly 37 years old begins to have cycles with no eggs. In my previous post, I said that Progesterone accompanies the egg so it can be released to make the uterus a great spot for a bub.
Well, that stops when the eggs stop being released. So, you may be feeling the symptoms of low Progesterone way before you even think you are anywhere near menopause.
Along with a cycle that doesn’t produce an egg, there are other reasons that Progesterone can decrease:
- Physical removal of the ovaries as in a Hysterectomy
- Anorexia as you need nutrients and cholesterol to service the entire body
- Having low cholesterol as cholesterol is the carrier of hormones around the body
- Extreme exercise or stress that increases cortisol (I’ll be chatting about how cortisol is an issue in another post)
- Hypothyroidism – progesterone increases the thyroid cell function.
- PCOS – Poly Cystic Ovarian Syndrome is where a Women has higher amount of the male Androgens hormone and lowered Progesterone
- Many other conditions associated with a Woman’s cycle – heavy periods, fibroids, endometriosis, PMS, menstrual migraines, infertility, peri and menopause
- Some medications like Opioid pain medications taken in the last 6 months and NSAIDS, just after 10 days use
- Having a Mirena/IUD/Coil can partially suppress ovulation therefore lower the need for Progesterone production
- Birth Control will do the same thing
If this is starting to sound like you and you feel like you need to start randomly taking some nutrients or herbs, it is always best to check where you are at.
As I mentioned last week in last post: 7 Reasons Progesterone makes Women feel Well, always having a full blood panel to show various body systems is always best to give a clearer understanding of what is happening in the body, as, everything is connected to everything and there is not one condition in the body that is not an isolated case when it comes to hormones.
Progesterone is best tested with blood, and on close to day 21 as possible.
Another way to do it is through a dried urine test, it sounds yucky, but really is easier than coming up with saliva at the perfect time that’s needed for the test. Both the Urine and Saliva Progesterone tests are normally included with an array of other hormones. It is the relationship of hormones that too have a lot to say with how a hormone is acting out.
The test I prefer to use is called a Dried Urine Test for Comprehensive Hormones, DUTCH for short, and I interpret results for this test in my 6 month Master Hormone Harmony Method.
If you’d like to know more about this or other topics, you are welcome to join my free membership on face book. Thyroid, Metabolic, Hormone Harmony Hub.
I’d love to see you there
Inspiring Wellness
Beth